School lunch has long been the subject of student journalism. Even the subject of major media. Recently, comedian John Oliver took a close look at the subject on his Sunday night talk show.
Colton High is no different.
Earlier this year, several students shared images via Instagram of expired food which they had been served at the CHS cafeteria. After investigation, the images shared were from last year and included fruit and bread items.
So it was important this year to speak with cafeteria staff to learn the process of how food is served in order to provide students with the truth and peace of mind.
“Our internal standard operating procedures are updated annually and we evaluate our hazardous analysis procedures,” said Colton Joint Unified Nutrition Services Director Casey Robertson.
With what Robertson said, this seems to be a contrast with stories from last year.
One student, who asked to remain anonymous for this article, said, “I remember that I had grapes from the cafeteria. They were moldy and not washed.” There was also an instance last year when a student stated they were given a sandwich with moldy bread.
However this year, cafeteria staff consistently gives food inspections of the school lunch, ensuring that there is a “low-to-no risk” of expired food being served to students in CHS.
To get the food to students’ plates, the process entails the food being delivered to the cafeteria in a freezer truck and quickly transferred to freezers in the cafeteria kitchen.
A day before the food is ready to be served they are defrosted and kept in fridges, then the food is cooked the day it will be served to the students, which is when the food inspections take place.
Head of the cafeteria staff Kelly Felix shared, “All food is kept in fridges and the food is delivered weekly and kept sealed in those fridges until ready to be served to students.”
Student concerns are being put into consideration, and the cafeteria staff does what they can to provide students with lunch suitable for consumption.
If students have quality concerns, they are advised to reach out to the kitchen manager at Colton High School, or call Nutrition Services at (909) 580-5000.
